Systems / ILLUSTRATED SERIES

Illustrated Hacking

A First CTF Handbook

Learn security through a fictional practice lab. Pair each vulnerability with the defensive idea that prevents it.

Coming soon

We’re preparing this book for publication. Its Amazon listing will be linked here when it’s available.

Read a sample chapter

A REAL LOOK INSIDE

What a Capture the Flag Is

A capture-the-flag competition presents security challenges inside an authorized environment. Each challenge asks a player or team to recover a secret string called a flag. Submitting the expected string to the scoreboard records a solve and awards points according to the event's rules.

The challenge description defines the intended target: perhaps a supplied file, a temporary web application, or a network service created for the event. Permission is limited to that target and the methods allowed by the rules. The scoreboard, hosting platform, other players, and unrelated systems remain outside scope.

An excerpt from the working manuscript. Read the illustrated pages or download the complete sample chapter.

Read the sample →

First page of What a Capture the Flag Is, a sample from Illustrated Hacking

A LITTLE MORE CLARITY

What you’ll explore.

Beginners exploring capture-the-flag challenges in authorized practice environments.

The outline is from the working manuscript and may change before publication.

01The CTF mindset
02Web vulnerabilities
03Cryptography basics
04Forensics
05Practice labs
06Defensive techniques

PUT AN IDEA TO WORK

There’s a seat for your curiosity.

Try a coding problem, then compare approaches with a friend.

Explore practice

Opening your workspace…